She woke up from the warm rays of the sun that touched her skin and from the growling of her stomach as the smell of something cooking wafted the entire room and reached her nose. Her eyes twitched as it slowly opened… her hands came up to rub her eyes… trying to stroke away the sleep in her… and she blinked, tying to adjust her sight and to trying to figure out what happened and as to where she was. And just then, she felt coldness replaced the warmth against her skin as the autumn’s wind blew in from one open window… there she realized that she was naked under the thin sheets…
Her hands immediately clutched on the blanket and crouched herself in a ball, warming herself… she was about to go back to sleep when she remembered the events from last night and as to whose house she was. Her eyes snapped open and something warm began to form in the pits of her stomach…
Her breathing quickened thinking if he was still there… she immediately rolled to the other side only to see an empty space beside her… sheets were disarrayed but his scent of lavender was so strong that it felt like he was still beside her. She heard the sound of food frying outside… the door of the room she was at was opened and she could clearly hear the pans clanging and smell the food that was cooking… and just then she realized that he must probably the one who was cooking.
For a while, she stayed lying on the soft mattress… brows were furrowed against each other as she placed the back of her hand against her forehead as she stared at the cream colored ceiling. She wanted to cry but tears won’t come out as if it knew that there was nothing that she needed to cry for… nothing that she needed to blame others for… because she knew to herself that what happened last night was not forced upon her. She loved every moment of it… even dreamed the whole thing over and over again…
With a gasp… she hastily sat up, clutching on the white blanket against her body…
How could she feel like this…?
How could she want something like this…?
How could she do this to her fiancé…?
She repeatedly asked herself… yet she could only groan in frustration of not being able to find answers to her own questions…
She heaved out a deep sigh before her gaze wandered around his room. Her expression softened as she noticed everything was perfectly placed… and just like his living room… everything had a touch of white in it.
Her gaze landed on the bedside table… only to see her picture placed on it…
She felt her heart being squeezed by the sight of it… and with it; she reached for it and flipped it over.
She began looking for her clothes, still clutching on the blanket to cover herself… and when she saw it neatly folded on one chair… she struggled to get out of the bed and clothed herself.
--
The smile on his face was indescribable… he was humming as he flipped the last pancake he was cooking.
He couldn’t help but to giggle by the thought of spending his first breakfast with Dara. He almost spent the whole night watching her sleep… afraid that she will suddenly disappear as soon as he closed his eyes… and even though he lacked of sleep… his face was glowing in happiness…
As soon as he placed the last food on the table… Dara came out from his room… fully dressed less the stockings that he ripped last night. She just stood by the door of his room… looking away…
And as if he was like a kid seeing his crush… his cheeks warmed in mixed shyness and bliss… she looked so even more beautiful than she was when she was sleeping earlier…
The smile on his lips grew wider as she slowly approached her… and noticing what he was doing… Dara’s gaze immediately snapped back to him and she flinched and took a step back.
Seeing this… Jiyong stopped from his tracks but still held that warm smile on his face.
“Jagiya… I prepared...-“
“I’m going home…” And she cut him off with her cold voice.
Jiyong’s smile wavered a bit… struggling to keep it. After a moment of silence passed… as if he hadn’t heard her words… he began with his tracks and before she could even step back… he got hold of her hand and pulled her with him towards the kitchen.
“Let go of me…! I said I’m going home…!”
She flinched from his touch… felt her skin burn from it. His tight hold of her loosened when she slapped him hard on the arm... Dara gasped from what she did but didn’t bother to regret it as she glared at him and clutched her hand on her chest.
“I’m going home…” She said sternly… yet again... as if convincing herself to move her feet from where she was standing.
“Just forget about what happened last night… it was just a mistake… and if you think that would change anything…-“
“Eat first before you go… I even made kimchi pancake… that’s one of your favorites right…?”
Dara’s brows connected with each other and breath got stuck in her throat as Jiyong abruptly cut her off… he was still wearing that annoying smile on his face… and as if he still hadn’t heard her.
Her jaws clenched and hands formed into tight fist as she tried to keep her calm.
“I’m not hungry… where are my keys…?”
“But you haven’t eaten dinner last-…”
“I said I am not hungry…!”
She wasn’t able to contain much longer… he was purposely pissing her off. He simply nodded… wearing a cute pout on his lips and when she saw it… she looked away… those lips… she could remember where those lips touched her last night… and with that, her cheeks warmed… and noticed herself getting wet because of the scenes that kept repeating inside her mind.
And suddenly, her eyes widen… was completely taken aback when Jiyong suddenly cupped her face between his hands… and even before she could stop him… he leaned down and pecked on her lips. Her body immediately stiffened… and mind immediately went blank.
“Jagiya you look scary when you’re mad… and I’ve been thinking… you look more beautiful when you’re newly waked up… it makes me want to kiss you over and over again…”
Dara blinked for a couple of times… felt her heart skipped a bit from his words, yet simply brushed away the feeling. She didn’t know where he got that endearment… almost made her remember about something. But she couldn’t raise a voice to stop him from calling her like that for she couldn’t help herself to like the sound of it.
‘This couldn’t be more absurd than it was’… she thought… and with that, she reached for his hands against the sides of her face and slowly pulled it away from her.
“Just give me the damn keys Jiyong…”
Jiyong just smiled and was about to reach for her again but she slapped his hand away. He giggled… and it was driving Dara to the edge of her sanity.
“I’ll just drive you back home Jagiya… wait for me…”
He was about to walk past her to get to his room but she stopped him as she clutched on his white shirt. Jiyong looked at her wonderingly before he sighed in defeat…
“Arasso… it’s over there…” he pointed at the ash tray on one of the cabinets.
Dara immediately wondered if he was smoking but never asked him about it… telling herself that she didn’t care. And with that, she immediately went to get her keys and quickly went for the door.
Jiyong followed her… pushed the door closed even before she could open it wide.
“Yah..!” She shrieked but Jiyong didn’t reply.
She stiffened upon feeling him behind her… hand was above her, stopping the door. Her heartbeat quickened… and the warmth inside her stomach began to scorch once again.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat…?” he whispered.
She could feel his hot breath against the back of her neck… she shook her head no only to receive yet another silence in response… just then, she gasped when she felt his hands on her shoulders… forcing her to turn around and face him.
“Why do you keep on pushing me away…?” he whispered again before he leaned down and captured her lips even before she could answer his question.
Her eyes widen for the nth time… gasped inside his hot mouth and he took the opportunity to easily slip in his tongue… immediately found hers… she tried to push him away but her struggles were all futile and the next thing she knew was… she was already responding to his deep kiss…
Eyes slowly closed… her hands slowly clutched on his sides as he took her mouth deeper and with more passion…she almost let go of the keys. His hands were holding her face securely against his…
Her protests soon faded away. He bit her lips which caused her to moan inside his mouth…memories of last night began to replay in her mind that made her to want more… and when she thought their kiss would never end… he pulled away… leaving her breathless… and aching for more.
She slowly opened her eyes to see him watching her with those unreadable eyes… she could only swallow down as she slowly got drowned from the spell brought by his gaze.
Jiyong smiled… placed a thumb on her plump lips… wiping off the wetness brought by their kiss. As much as he wanted to kiss her… as much as his cock was starting to strain against his pants… and as much as he wanted to make love to her again... he knew he needed to stop.
“Now… does that still make you want to go home…?” he whispered against her lips…
When she thought she would suffocate from the kiss… his words almost made her faint… until reality sunk in to her once again…
She blinked for a couple of times before she released her hold on his sides and held on to his arms and pulled it off of her… she clutched on her keys tighter before she pushed him away from her and without another word… she immediately pulled the door open and went out.
Jiyong stayed on his spot… watched the closed door for a moment before he broke his gaze and looked down… his fingers slowly came to touch his lips. He could still remember how her lips felt against his… and slowly, a bitter smile crept on it…
“Is it really too much Dara…?” he whispered only for silence to swallow his words.
He heaved out a deep sigh… decided to go back to the kitchen to find the table filled with the foods that he made…
He stood near it… eyes fluttered in sadness… imagining how nice it would be if Dara would be there to join him…
Another sigh escaped him as he reached for an almost cold bacon and ate it…
“I guess I won’t be needing lunch after this…” he muttered to himself as he sat and smiled again to himself.
--
She didn’t know how many red lights she ran past just to get to her hoe fast… and as soon as she get to her room… she collapsed on the floor, panting while clutching on her chest…
Everything was a blur and all she could remember was on how his lips felt like… with that, with the back of her hand… she tried to wipe off her lips… hoping to wipe off the feeling as well…
Just then she heard her phone rung…
She left her bag inside her car last night and just this morning she found several missed calls from Minho and Bom…
Her heart sunk upon seeing who the caller was… there she was sheathed with the scent of another man… with every part of her body marked… while the man on the other line knew nothing of what was happening… knew nothing that it was his own brother who she was with the entire night.
She hesitated to take the call yet in the end… she clicked to answer it…
“Hon…! Where were you..? I’ve been calling you since last night…”
And tears started to fill her eyes upon hearing Minho’s voice yet she managed to smile from his worried tone.
“I had a terrible headache last night so I slept early… sorry I wasn’t able to take your call…” she tried hard for her voice not to shake and luckily she succeeded.
“Oh… is that so… well… are you okay now..?”
Yet before she could answer… he beat her to it.
“I’ve been trying to call you last night because I was supposed to tell you that tonight there’ll be a party… your father invited the investors and you need to be there with me so that I could introduce you to them…”
And just then the smile on her lips slowly faltered as he continued with his words… she wiped off the tears in her eyes as a sudden sadness showered over her…
“So I’ll pick you up before dinner…”
“Hon… can’t I just pass tonight… I still feel a little sick and I think I won’t be able to..-“
“But Dara… your father wants us to be there together… he wants the investors to know about you too… you’ll be the wife of the future president of the company remember…?”
Her eyes widen from his sudden outburst… but more of because of his words. Was his job really getting to his head…? She couldn’t help but think… she had noticed it before yet she paid no heed not until now that his words were speaking off the reality.
“Okay…just pick me up later…”
She heard him sigh from the other line and she couldn’t help but be hurt from his reaction… where was the caring Minho that she knew?
“Arasso... take some medicine and sleep first…see you later…”
At first she was silent until she whispered him ‘I love you’… only to hear him hung up on her…
--
Her mind was drifting off somewhere far not until she felt her fiancé squeezed her hand tight.
They’ve been standing for who knows how long. Minho was talking with some businessmen while she just stood beside him… nodding and smiling when she needed to… faking attention to whoever was speaking for apparently… her mind was filled with the thoughts of Jiyong…
She looked at Minho who had a wide smile plastered on his face and looking at her at the side of his eyes… she motioned her to pay attention to the man he was talking to and so she did…
“Is Ms. Park not feeling too well Minho…?”
The old man asked her fiancé and she realized that he must be one of the investors that Minho was talking about… probably that was why he was too keen to make her pay attention. She wasn’t able to remember his name… couldn’t even remember if they were already introduced with each other.
“Ah… I’m sorry… she must be tired because of work.”
The old man nodded… his eyes filled with amazement and interest.
“Yes… I’ve heard that you work as a curator… what kind of artwork are you going to feature this year…?”
Dara smiled at the old man. Every year, their museum holds an event to welcome a new artwork to be added to their collection. Finally found something interesting she could talk about.
“It’s a painting… it’s a Korean artwork that was sold to Japan before and now we were able to acquire it back and place it to where it should be…”
The old man nodded once again… clearly pleased from what he heard. And just then… Minho interrupted…
“So Mr. Kang… about the proposition for our Busan branch…”
Dara looked at him… only to see that clearly, he didn’t want to be disturbed. With that, she just clasped her lips together and looked past to the old man… watched the other people talking with each other…
And just then she realized how her life would be in the future. There would be more events like this… people would always be around them… and she would always stand by beside Minho. She wanted to smile… wanted to look forward to that life yet the more she think about it… the more she didn’t want it to happen… was this the life she wanted for them…? She couldn’t help but ask herself.
--
“Can’t you just pay a minute to smile and not to make it obvious that you were not interested about the topic..? God damnit Dara you made me look like a fool in there..! As if I was holding on to a pole or something..?”
As soon as they rode his car… Minho’s angry words rang inside. Dara looked at him in shock but there were no sign of remorse in his expression as he looked at her with full disappointment.
She saw him clenched his jaw… clearly controlling himself from his emotions…
He closed his eyes and sighed… hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel… he tore his gaze away from her and unto the road.
“And of all things… you chose to talk about those fukcing artworks…” he muttered.
“What did you say…?” Dara asked him in surprise… voice was shaking in mixed awe and anger.
“Nothing…” Minho replied coldly as he started the car’s engine.
The way back home was awfully quiet… and when they arrived to her place. Luckily, Minho hadn’t forgotten about courtesy as he opened the door for her. But when he was about to kiss Dara goodbye… she looked away from him.
Minho looked at her for a while yet she never looked back… and with that, he nodded slightly, as if accepting that she was mad.
“I’ll call you tomorrow…”
Dara didn’t reply… instead she started her way inside the building.
She waited for his car to go and when she heard it… a deep sigh escaped her throat.
What he said was all shocking and hurtful… but the way he acted the whole night was really something new to her. As if she never knew him… and by that… it scared her.
--
She arrived at her room with a heavy heart… can her day get any worse? She thought to herself…
She plopped down to her bed, wanted for sleep to take over her consciousness for she was both physically and emotionally exhausted… and just then she heard her phone rung.
She thought it was Minho and so she hesitated to pick it up but when she noticed that it was an unregistered number… she immediately got curious as to who it was and so she answered it… only to complete her day with yet again another surprise.
“Jagiya…” Jiyong whispered…
She immediately sat up on her bed… her full attention was directed to the person on the other line.
“What… h-…how did you know my number…?!” she panicked… immediately looked around to check if he was there… as if she got accustomed to him to always pop out in the middle of nowhere. She heard him chuckle before he spoke.
“Why do you sound so scared…? I just wanted to check on you… and tell you I missed you… so how was the party…?” And just then her eyes widen. Felt the hair on the back of her neck stood up from the sudden fear.
“How did you know that I was on the party…?! And where the hell did you get my number Jiyong…?”
“Jagiya… could you please calm down… you’re making me laugh too much…”
Yet Dara was far from calming… she clutched on her phone tightly… not bothering if she would break the thing into pieces.
“I was supposed to meet Minho tonight but he said that you two were about to go to a party… I also got your number from him…”
She tried to let the words sink in… and after a while… she finally managed to calm down.
“I don’t want you calling me Jiyong… and this will be the last time for it…”
“But I want to hear your voice…”
She gasped as once again she felt her heart skipped upon hearing what he said. She gulped down… blinked her eyes… waking herself up from her trance…
“Stop it Jiyong… I need to go now…”
And before he could even say more… she hung up the phone and immediately turned it off. She panted… felt her heart raced quickly as she threw her phone on the other side of the bed.
After a moment… she was once again plopped down on the bed. Staring on the ceiling… their earlier conversation filled her mind and she couldn’t help but to wonder. The Jiyong she knew was a silent, loner guy… and now… he was making her even more confused when sometimes he would act serious… then the next time… he would be childish… and sometimes he would just look at her with those unreadable eyes…
‘Who’s the real you Jiyong…?’ those words kept repeating to her head over and over again… until slumber had already taken over her.
--
She sighed looking at her phone for the nth time…
Since she woke up and turned her phone on… Minho hadn’t called her yet. Now that she was in her job… she couldn’t concentrate for the thought of having an argument with him bothered her so much.
They never had a serious argument such as this before… it was all new to her and it was driving her mad. She knew she wasn’t at fault but just the fact that they were not in good terms… especially that their wedding was near… broke her heart.
And what if… what if he knew about her and Jiyong…
She closed her eyes and buried her face on her palms to let the thoughts go away… she ran her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply… focusing herself back to work… and just then… the door of her office opened as her assistant came in… holding on to a bouquet of red roses.
Dara’s eyes immediately snapped wide open especially when her assistant told her that a man gave her the roses and told her to meet him outside.
“Did he tell you his name…?” She asked eagerly as she checked the roses to for a card but found none. Her gloomy mood immediately changed as the thought of her fiancé giving her the flowers filled her mind.
“No ma’am… he just said that he wanted to see you outside…”
Dara nodded enthusiastically and excitedly made her way out… still holding on to the bouquet…
With a wide smile on her face she looked for Minho…
There were many people today and she had a hard time looking for her fiancé. And just then, her pace slowed down and the smile on her lips slowly faltered as she saw a familiar looking guy… whose back was facing her, standing before a familiar painting, ‘Forbidden Love’.
She slowly dropped her hand that was holding on to the bouquet… and just then the man, lad in a black suit turned around and faced her…
His handsome face glowed… especially when that infamous smile slowly curved on his lips… he looked at her with those brown orbs… and once again she was immediately taken into it.
With one hand inside his pocket… he walked towards her who was left dumbstruck on her spot and could only watch him as he got closer. Lavender… he still smelled like lavender…
“Did you like the flowers Jagiya…? I wasn’t sure what to give you… but I hope it would make you feel a little better…” She was about to ask him what he was talking about but he cut her to it as he continued…
“By the way… you looked beautiful last night… I almost forgot that my brother was with you… I really wanted to take you away from that place…”
And his words plunged right through her… yet all she could do was to stare at him with wide eyes as he smiled warmly towards her.
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